Evaluation of the German surveillance system for hepatitis B regarding timeliness, data quality, and simplicity, from 2005 to 2014

摘要

Objectives: Germany has a mandatory surveillance system for acute hepatitis B (AHB) with the Protection against Infection Act as the legal basis in place since 2001. An amendment was introduced in 2013. We aimed at evaluating the surveillance systems' performance regarding timeliness, data quality, and simplicity from 2005 to 2014 and at assessing the effect of the amendment on timeliness of AHB surveillance.